from the Ludgate-Dwyer household
by ratherbefree
Summary: REG Random oneshots about April and Andy. Not in chronological order. Also on AO3, which I tend to update more often.
1. admitting it

They're sitting at the shoe shine stand, and Andy's talking about Mouserat again, and April's just watching him, glad to be there, when Ann and Mark walk past arm in arm. Andy turns to her with an intensity in his eyes she's never seen before on him.

"April." He says seriously, and she shifts a little to look him in the eye. "If you had to choose between me and Mark. Who would you pick?"

April rolls her eyes but inside she sort of panics. They've not been friends for very long, but ever since they hung out that day when everyone else was gone camping, she's started to feel a certain _something_ for him. It's like a warm, squishy feeling in the pit of her stomach which she would normally consider gross but has since begun to grow on her. She wouldn't call it a _crush_, not exactly, but...

She shakes her head, answers: "You, I guess. Mark's all old and gross. You're kind of young, at least." She hopes it came out flat and uninterested, because inside _that feeling_ is starting up again and she doesn't want to look him in the eye.

Andy grins at her and leans back in his chair. "Yeah, thought so. Mark is just... So boring. I don't know what Ann sees in him."

"Yeah." April agrees absentmindedly. She busies herself on her phone and the pair lapse into companionable silence. She sneaks a glance at him. He's staring down the corridor where Ann and Mark were a minute ago, seemingly lost in thought. She allows herself a moment to stare at him, trying to see _why_ he makes her feel this way.

She can't tell how long it's been until he catches her. He flashes her a weird grin, one eyebrow raised and everything, and she manages a half smile back. She can't help it. His grin softens, becomes more sincere, and April has to quickly turn away again because dammit, she's getting that stupid feeling again. It's not a crush, she tells herself. _I do not have a crush on Andy Dwyer._ She repeats it like a mantra:

_I do not have a crush on Andy_.

_I do not have a crush on Andy._

_I do not have a crush on Andy._

_I do not have a crush on Andy._

But when she composes herself enough to actually look at him again, and he's leaning back in his chair with a dumb smile on his face, she admits it.

_I have a little bit of a crush on Andy_.


	2. decision making

"Yes, but… Does it have a good school district?" April asks, smiling up at him. If she's totally honest, she doesn't know how that came out, but it somehow just feels right, so she lets it hang in the air instead of taking it back.

Andy stares at her for a moment, and she wonders what he's thinking. It's such an out of character thing for her to say; they've only talked about kids a couple times before and he's always been the one to initiate it.

"But, babe, we're out of school." He shakes his head like it's an obvious answer, and tightens his arm around her. April scowls into the camera.

Naturally, April doesn't bring it up again, and continues with her guise of wanting to adopt "creepy, adult twins from Romania." Not that she'd be overly opposed to _Andy_ bringing it up, but that's a different thing altogether.

Because, it's like, if she brings it up then they're definitely doing it. They'll become boring adults with a house and a dog and 2.5 kids and she won't be allowed to bother Jerry and put sleeping pills in his drinks anymore, because that's not what mothers do, right? And then Leslie and Ann will throw her a stupid baby shower with cake and a stroller and maternity clothes and it'll be like she's a time bomb, and then at some point a baby will pop out and she and Andy will have to raise it for 18 years.

But then if Andy brings it up, which she's almost certain he won't, she can always say no or crack some stupid joke about how a child coming from her shouldn't be brought into the world, or whatever.

Underneath all the boring adult stuff, she guesses that she's legitimately scared.

April just isn't cut out to be a mother. And she loves Andy, but he'd definitely be more of a _dad_ than a _father_. Like, he'd play ball with the kid in the back yard but would forget to pick them up from school. According to Ben, they're barely taking care of _themselves_. Yeah, they no longer eat off frisbees (_all_ the time) but it often takes them until they have used every clean dish in the house to finally get them all washed.

So she contents herself with this excuse for another year or so, and just laughs and shakes her head when she's asked by her mom when her grandkid is coming, and hopes Andy never wants to talk about it.

She's in Washington with Ben, and she's been sitting in her hotel room for half an hour until Andy finally Skypes her.

She glares at his pixilated face on her laptop screen until it comes into focus. Andy holds his hands up in surrender.

"I'm sorry I'm late." He seems to be genuinely scared of her, which is one thing she really likes about him.

She forces down a smile and replies: "You better be. Why are you so late this time?" And she is legitimately curious because usually it's _her_ who doesn't pick up because of work stuff or whatever, and Andy's the one who sends her like 8 texts asking if she's okay.

He scratches the back of his neck, embarrassed.

"I had to, uh, get glitter out my hair. And off my face, too."

She shoots him a skeptical look, raises an eyebrow, and prods "Why?"

"Me and Ron had to sort out a hole in front of some woman's house and I accidentally let her daughters give me a makeover."

"Uh huh." She replies with a smirk. Inside, she can feel panic sort of growing inside her because what if Andy wants to talk about it? What if he had such a great time with those kids that he wants his own? She saw it on his bucket list a year ago: "Have a son."

But to her relief, he doesn't. Just gets a wistful look in his eyes, snaps out of it a moment later, and asks: "How was work?"

And April allows herself to forget all about it as she complains to him about the stupid traffic in Washington and how she and Ben wanted to take a road trip back home but didn't.

However, that look he gets in his eyes when he's talking about kids bothers her when she wakes up the next morning.

Everything had been going smoothly for almost another full year when Ron and Dianne screw it all up.

April has been avoiding the topic of kids for so long she's become a pro. But of course, Andy has to find that stupid pregnancy test back at the cabin and goes running around with Ann, searching for the owner.

She tries her hardest to stay out of his way the whole day (and not just because of vet school), even though she feels bad about it and still doesn't feel totally cool with Andy spending that much time with Ann. She reasons with herself by saying that if he thinks it's hers, he'll end up being disappointed, and one thing she hates most is sad Andy.

But of course, after stupid Ann has helped him rule everyone else out, he comes running to her. And the happiness in his eyes, the way he lifts her up and spins her around, starts to make her feel almost guilty. Until she tells him about vet school and the look of glee in his eyes changes from happiness about the potentiality of a child to pride in his wife's accomplishments.

She tells him "I'm so glad I married you." Because she really, truly is, even if they don't share the same views on things like kids. And her heart flutters a little when he replies:

"Yeah, we made a good call on that one," and pulls her into a hug.

When Ron and Dianne announce their pregnancy, April finds that the topic of kids comes up again. But this time, she's prepared.

Or, at least, she thinks she is.

She and Andy are sitting on the couch, watching TV, when suddenly he pauses it and turns to her. He looks all serious, which is rare for him. He takes a deep breath but then casts his eyes to the ground.

"So… About Ron and Dianne, it got me thinking…"

"About what?" She asks, looking everywhere but him, despite the fact that she already knows the answer.

"Kids." He says firmly. April stares at the floor, and Andy seems to take that as a bad sign. "I – I don't want to pressure you, or anything. I mean, I know you don't really want them – I just think we should talk about it, okay?"

"I don't want kids." She blurts out. Andy faces crumples a little, and he turns away to hide it. April desperately wants to take it back, wants to comfort him, because nothing makes her feel worse than upsetting him. But she knows that to take it back now might start a fight, so she just stares at the paused TV until Andy composes himself and unpauses it. She tries to reach for his hand, but he pulls it away at the last second, mumbling something about being hungry and stands in the kitchen.

She doesn't have to worry about The Talk (as she's come to think of it) when Ann falls pregnant. However, it still worries her, so she tiptoes around Andy for the first week or so and even after that she still changes the subject whenever it comes up. After a couple of months, she decides she can't do this to Andy anymore, so she goes to do the one thing she hates most in the world.

"Ann?" April hesitantly catches her just before she's due to go home for the day.

"April?" Ann seems genuinely surprised that April's talking to her. April doesn't blame her, but she rolls her eyes anyway.

"Yes."

"Why… Are you talking to me?" Ann asks suspiciously and looks around as if she's talking to someone behind her.

"I need to get drunk and talk to you about Andy." The words take even her by surprise.

"Seriously? Well, I need to tell Chris… One sec." Obviously Ann has to be weird about this. April rolls her eyes again, but bounces her left leg impatiently as Ann retrieves her phone and texts Chris, presumably telling him not come home in the next few hours. Her phone _pings_ immediately after and she smiles at it, then says "We're good to go!" so April follows her to her car.

Ann's house is annoyingly perfect as usual, and April slumps down on the couch as soon as she gets there, rubbing her temples. Ann takes one look at her and goes to find a bottle of wine.

She comes back a minute later with a bottle and two glasses. She pours April and herself a large glass each and says: "What's up?"

"Andy." April groans and flops backwards.

"What is it this time?"

April glares at her.

"No, I mean, like, you two never fight. It's pretty weird, actually." Ann takes a sip of her wine. April guesses she should do the same.

"Did you and Andy ever talk about kids?" April asks. She cringes just hearing herself say it.

Ann chokes a little on her wine, and then laughs. "No! No…. Noooooo. Never. Andy never wanted kids, and I would never bring a child into the world with him. No way."

"Really?" April says, confusedly. She just assumed that Andy had always wanted kids.

"Yeah… Why? Are you pregnant?" Ann leans forward, intrigued. April reflexively leans back.

"No. It's just…"

"Just what?" Ann's voice is kind now, and one who didn't know them would think they were actually friends.

April sighs and decides just to spit it out. "Andy wants kids."

Ann raises her eyebrows, takes a sip of her wine, and asks "And what's the problem with that? Do you not want kids? He's not… Pressuring you into anything, is he?"

"No. I don't know if I want kids." April takes a long swig of her wine and continues, "it's like, I want a kid with Andy if that would make him happy, but I don't know if that would be such a good idea."

"Why not?" Ann asks as she refills their glasses. She appears to be genuinely interested now.

"Andy and I aren't the most responsible people." There's another reason, too, but April doesn't want to tell Ann that. It's one of the things she's used as an excuse whenever Andy brings it up; Andy understands it, but April is sure that Ann won't.

"Can't argue with that." Ann laughs a little. _Is she drunk already? _April wonders.

"Like, I guess I kind of hate kids, but… If Andy and I raised it, it couldn't be that bad…" She mulls. Ann stares at her.

"Does Andy _really _want kids?"

"Yeah. Like, really really wants them. He wants a son. I saw it on his bucket list."

"He still has that?" Ann breaks out into a fit of giggles. It kind of annoys April that Ann knew about Andy's bucket list before she did, but for the moment she lets it slide. She downs the rest of her glass.

"How do I, like, tell him that I wouldn't _hate_ having a kid, but I don't want one _now_?"

"I don't know, just tell him exactly what you told me." Ann's words are slurred, yet true. April glances at the clock on the wall and finds that it's only been 15 minutes. _So much for a few hours_, she thinks as she texts Andy to come pick her up.

"I'm gonna go." She says awkwardly as she picks up her jacket from the end of the couch. She opens the door and stands outside, even though it's cold and it'll take a few minutes for Andy to come get her.

When Andy finally shows up, she's so happy to see him that she forgets all about the talk she was going to have with him and just whispers in his ear that she wants to go to bed. Andy certainly obliges.

She procrastinates The Talk until Leslie and Ben announce that they're having triplets, and Andy just looks so overjoyed for them that she decides that _today is the day. _

She goes about work for the last remaining hours in the day and then she and Andy walk to the car. She's feeling nervous, but it's the good-ish kind, and she grins up at him as he talks about how he's really sorry that he had to keep the whole triplets thing a secret from her, but Leslie and Ben made him promise and those two kind of scare him. As they're getting into the car, she tells him that it's fine, because it is.

When they get home her hands are shaking and she can't stop smiling. Andy looks at her in confusion.

"Babe, are you okay?"

She nods quickly and opens her mouth to speak. Annoyingly, she forgets the whole thing and all that comes out her mouth is "Iwouldn'thatekidswithyou".

"What?" Andy asks. April knows he heard it right but just wants it repeated.

"I wouldn't hate to have kids with you." She says, slower this time. She hesitantly looks into his eyes. She can see the childish glee that is his expression of happiness growing in them.

But he tries to play it cool: "What… Uh, what are we going to do about that?"

"I was thinking…" She clasps their hands together. "We could just, like, stop using condoms."

"So is this trying for a baby, or…?"

"It's not _trying_," April says because she's never liked that term and she wants to maintain some of her usual, anti-adult self, "it's just not _not _trying."

"Not not trying." Andy says, grinning. "I can go with that."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

April flings her arms round his neck and he pulls her in and lifts her off the ground. "Hey," She says wryly, "you gotta get used to not doing that if you're going to put a baby in me."

"Oh – Of course." He sets her down immediately. Suddenly, his face grows serious.

"I love you." He tells her, looking straight into her eyes.

"I love you too." She smiles, and she can't deny it; this is pretty awesome.

It's a year and a half later when Max is born, and they joy of cradling him to her chest and watching Andy hold him for the first time makes April forget about the fact that she just freaking _gave birth_ and there's 6 people gathered round her vagina.

Andy hands him back to her and presses a kiss to her cheek. "Babe, you are the best. Seriously."


	3. sprained ankles

"Babe, it freakin' _hurts_," April moans as Andy lowers her onto the couch. (He's carried her almost everywhere since the doctor's, and though she usually would protest, she really can't be bothered to right now.) He props her crutches against the armrest, and walks to the kitchen.

"Can I get you anything?" He asks, concern deep in his voice.

April tries to sit up. "Do we have any aspirin left?"

"We might have some in the bathroom," he calls back "I'll go check."

She means to say 'thank you', or anything really, but all that escapes is a groan of pain. She stares down at her ankle in its stupid brace. It's ugly and makes it weird to walk and she hates it.

She still hasn't told Andy what exactly happened; only that she fell off a desk and landed on her ankle. The truth is, she had got mud on her shoes from outside, so she decided to walk all over Larry's desk, because, why not? But she went and slipped on some papers and fell, spraining her dumb ankle. And of course Ann, of all people, had to find her and get her to the hospital.

Incidentally, she told the doctor that she tripped while running, and Ann lectured her about it but she honestly didn't care.

Andy comes bounding into the room with the small bottle of aspirin. He fumbles noisily with the cap (it always takes him a minute or two to realise that he has to press down to open the bottles as opposed to just twist,) and then hands it to her. She swallows a pill forcefully, but regrets it as it grates down her throat. Why is everything so goddamn _painful_?

"Any better?" Andy asks nervously as he places a pillow under her head.

"No." She replies, but soon reiterates: "A little."

Andy grins, which would be annoying on anyone else due to the current situation, but somehow, on Andy, it's not. April tries for a weak smile in response, but she guesses it comes out as more of a grimace because Andy frowns.

"Is that all you wanted? 'Cause, you know, you can ask me for anything. I'll do whatever you want until you feel better."

It's sweet, but all April really wants to do just now is sleep. When she tells him this, Andy nods in understanding.

"I'll just… Leave you here, then. I'll walk Champion, or something."

He starts walking away, Champion's lead clutched in hand, when April sleepily calls out. "Thank you, by the way."

He just turns and smiles.

She wakes up to the smell of mac n' cheese wafting from the kitchen. Her ankle is still throbbing a little, but the pain, for the most part at least, has gone. She carefully props herself up on her elbows, but even still has to crane her neck a little to see over the back of the couch to the kitchen.

"'You making mac n' cheese?"

Andy jumps, startled. He soon regains his composure. "I didn't know you were up… Otherwise I would have asked you, y'know, but… Yeah, mac n' cheese. Do you want some?"

"Yeah… Would you mind bringing it over here, though? I don't feel like walking, it still feels kinda weird."

"Of course." Andy smiles warmly at her, and April would be lying if she said it didn't still melt her heart a little whenever he looked at her that way.

She settles down into the pillows, and a couple minutes later Andy comes over and places a steaming plate of mac n' cheese on the coffee table in front.

"Thanks, babe." April tries to swing her feet around so she can lean over her plate to eat, and Andy immediately asks;

"Do you need any help?"

Before she can answer, he's gently lifting her legs and freeing them, allowing her to sit properly. She shoots him a grateful sort of look and tucks in to eat. Andy perches next to her on the couch, awkwardly. Once she's finished her mouthful of food, she turns to him, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" He asks. He fiddles with the hem of his shirt a little, and doesn't quite look her in the eye.

"There's something wrong."

"No, there's not." His voice is high and a little too defensive. April turns back to her food, knowing he'll tell her eventually. He's not exactly notorious for keeping secrets.

"Are you feeling okay? Like, is the food okay? Is it making you feel better?"

"Yeah." April replies slowly. She stares him in the eyes, and he doesn't look away.

"Good. 'Cause… It's just that, I kinda promised to protect you, and I'm not that good at, like, caring for people or anything… I'm not good at cooking, or medical stuff, or anything, and I want you to feel better soon." He finishes somewhat awkwardly, and looks down immediately after.

"Babe, you're great at caring for me. Seriously. This mac n' cheese is the best I've ever tasted." It's a lie, and Andy knows it, but April can tell that at this point it doesn't really matter. He's grinning at her now.

"You're so awesome."

Andy spends the next few days pretty much waiting on April hand and foot. It's sweet, although she does get sick of mac n' cheese after a while.


	4. hopes

"I hope she'll look like you." Andy says, suddenly. April, in her post-sleep haze, takes a minute to understand what he means. Andy places his hand over her stomach.

April turns her head to the side, murmurs "Shut _up_...", but can't help smiling at the thought.

"No, but seriously," Andy continues enthusiastically. "And I hope she'll be just like you, too."

April groans again in response, but Andy doesn't seem to care. "She'll be funny, and smart, and totally awesome. Just like her mom."

"So what you're saying is," April rolls back onto her other side, being careful not to lie on her small-but-visible bump, "you just want, like, a smaller version of me?" She tries to at least make it sound uninterested.

"_Yes_." He's staring at the ceiling, full grin on his face. "That would be adorable."

"It would _not_." She scoffs, because she has to protest somehow, lest she get caught up in all of this too.

"Yeah, it totally would." Andy replies, turning onto his side to face her. He's still grinning widely, so April gives him a half smile in response. "Imagine a tiny little April Ludgate running around, pissing everyone off..."

"Ew, no." She wrinkles her nose. "I was a really shitty kid."

"I bet you weren't."

"No, I was. Trust me. You've never seen me as a kid, I was horrible-"

"Actually, I have." Andy interjects. "Seen you as a kid, I mean."

"What?" April sits up straight so fast that it kind of hurts her back. "How?"

"Natalie showed me some photos of you when you were younger. You were so cute."

"When was this?" She tries to be more annoyed, but for some reason she just isn't. She never really gets annoyed when she's with Andy.

"Last week, when we told everyone that we're having a girl. She told me that I should at least know which gene pool I'm picking from, or something."

"Ugh." April groans, laying back down again. "If our daughter ends up looking like that I'm gonna scream."

Andy just laughs in response.


	5. weddings

April has a plan.

Well, kind of. She isn't even sure it will work, but she is determined to at least try.

She approaches him as soon as work is over. He is hunched over Kyle's shoes, wiping them quickly as he is the last customer of the day. She stops in front of them, swinging her arms nervously.

"There you go, Kyle." Andy says as he stands up. "Now get out of here, you've been wasting my time."

"Alright then," Kyle replies, somewhat surly as he hurries away. Andy ignores him, instead turning to face April.

"Sorry about that, he said he'd pay me extra if I shined his shoes after working hours… What's up?"

"I need a favour." April is glad that the crappy building's lights are dim; she doesn't want Andy to see her blush.

"Sure! Anything. I am at your service." He makes an exaggerated bow, but trips, causing him to fling a hand out towards the counter for balance.

"You don't even know what it is yet." April laughs.

"Oh… Yeah. What is it, then?"

"I, um…" She hesitates, hoping Andy will agree. "I got invited to my aunt's stupid wedding, and she wants me to bring a date, because I kind of told her I'd be bringing my boyfriend, Derek, but, you know, I broke up with him so he won't come, and… I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend." She finishes slowly, not meeting his eyes. If he says no, it will probably be the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to her.

Andy pauses before exclaiming, "Yeah, sure! That sounds fun!"

"Are you sure?" April asks, relieved.

"Positively sure. 100%." Andy says seriously.

"Great! I'll, um, text you the details when I get home."

"Cool. I'll see you tomorrow."

"I will see you tomorrow, too!" Andy shoots her a weird look at the awkwardness of the sentence, but waves and walks towards the parking lot. April runs the opposite way, despite the fact that going that is a lot quicker.

"How was work, Zuzu?" April's mother asks.

April shrugs, setting her bag down by her shoes. "Um, when is Aunt May's wedding?"

"Next Sunday, honey. Why?"

"No reason." April unconvincingly replies, and goes upstairs to her room.

_Text message  
From: April (SATAN) Ludgate  
To: Andy Dwyer_

_the weddings next sunday, starts at 12_

_From: Andy Dwyer  
To: April (SATAN) Ludgate_

_cool_

_do i hav to were pants?_

_From: April (SATAN) Ludgate  
To: Andy Dwyer_

_yeah_

_but dont you have a suit?_

_From: Andy Dwyer  
To: April (SATAN) Ludgate_

_yes_

_its a little staned from the pit tho_

_From: April (SATAN) Ludgate  
To: Andy Dwyer_

_doesnt matter its just a dumb wedding _

_itll be fine_

_From: Andy Dwyer  
To: April (SATAN) Ludgate_

_ok_

_see u at work tomorrow _

_bye_

_From: April (SATAN) Ludgate  
To: Andy Dwyer_

_bye_

April actually makes an effort to get to work on time this day, something which surprises everyone.

She sits at her desk, sleeping and texting, until it's finally her lunch break, then she grabs her lunch and heads to Andy's shoe shine stand, flopping down onto the chair.

"Something up?" Andy asks, side-eyeing her as he counts the money he's made so far.

April just hums in response.

"Ludgate." Andy quickly puts his money into the till. "If we're going to be fake dating, you need to tell me what's up. That's how fake relationships work, right?"

"It's just work stuff." She sighs. "Ever since I took the job for Ron's assistant, they expect me to actually, like, work. Jerry always gives me Ron's mail and I have to read it and sort it, and… Ugh. It's just so boring."

"That sucks." Andy agrees. "But at least you've got your Aunt's wedding to look forward to!"

"Ugh, are you kidding?" She laughs, cynically. "I hate weddings. And my cousins will be there."

"I bet you'll have fun at this wedding."

"No."

"I bet you, like, $8 and…" he fishes around in his pockets for a moment before pulling out a packet of gum. "some gum, that I will make this wedding fun for you."

"You're on."

_Text message_

_From: April (SATAN) Ludgate  
To: Andy Dwyer_

_my mom says shell drive us tomorrow_

_idk if u want to drive w my family tho_

_they're super annoying_

_From: Andy Dwyer  
To: April (SATAN) Ludgate_

_tht sounds perfect bc i dont hav a car atm_

_and burly wont giv me his after wat hapennd last time_

_From: April (SATAN) Ludgate  
To: Andy Dwyer_

_k _

_well pick you up at burlys place at 11 bc it takes like an hour to get there_

April inwardly winces as her mother's car pulls up next to Burly's house. What's Andy going to think when he sees her mom, dad, sister and she dressed as ugly as _this_?

Her mom is wearing a black dress that would be okay-looking if she didn't have the stupid headpiece. She and Natalie have matching pale blue dresses that are so loose it makes April feel like her grandmother.

Andy jumps out of the house, slamming the door and bounding over to the car. "Hey, Mrs. Ludgate, Mr. Ludgate."

"Hello, Andrew." Her dad says, smiling and extending a hand. Andy shakes it over exaggeratedly.

"Come on in, then!" April's mom shouts, opening the door of the car. Andy stoops to get in, climbing over the middle row of seats until he reaches April at the back.

"Hey." He grins as the car starts to move.

"Hi." April replies, and drops her tone to a whisper; "Sorry about… All this. Once the ceremony's over we can leave them and go to the buffet."

"There's a buffet?!" Andy exclaims, grinning widely. "Oh my God, this is going to be the best wedding _ever_."

The car journey was way too long, but April has to admit that having Andy around made it a lot more enjoyable. (And she may have been staring at him a little. She was curious, after all; she's never seen him in a suit. It turns out that he looks amazing.)

The ceremony is set to start in 10 minutes, so April and Andy are rushed to the hall so they can greet the other friends and family members invited. After a few minutes of awkward talking and exclamations of surprise at how "tall" April and Natalie are now, they take their seats as the music begins to play.

April watches in silence as her aunt walks up the aisle. Once she meets the groom – April's new Uncle Jonathan – she just looks so happy that it's kind of difficult to hate the wedding ceremony. Jonathan has tears in his eyes as they say their vows – boring, traditional things like "taking care of each other in sickness and in health" and "loving each other forevermore." April makes a promise to herself that if she ever gets married, her vows will be something awesome and way less boring.

She goes to nudge Andy and roll her eyes, but she catches him staring at the couple on the stage, transfixed. He has a soft smile on his face, and April can feel one starting to creep onto hers, too, so she just turns back to the front and watches the rest of the ceremony unfold.

After what must be around 10 minutes, the after party begins. The bride and groom lead the way into a large open hall decorated with cheesy flowers and provocative white banners. Tables and chairs are scattered everywhere, and the bride and groom table is at the far side of the room. Starting in the middle and ending at the right hand side of the room is a large dance floor.

Her mom says something about having to stay here until her Aunt May and (now) Uncle Jonathan lead them to their table, so April drags Andy a few feet away from them.

"Thanks. For coming, I mean." She says quickly. "It's probably gonna be super boring for you, 'cause like, you don't know anyone, and…"

"No, it's fine." Andy replies, grinning. "Seriously. I love weddings."

"Ugh, really?" April asks, laughing slightly. "But how do you-" She is cut off by Andy grasping her hand tightly. It takes her by surprise to say the least, but she instinctively grips his fingers tight. The reason for this new progression soon becomes apparent.

"April!"Aunt May exclaims. April looks up from their joined hands reluctantly. Her aunt stands before her, clad in a long white flowing dress. April sticks her arm out for a handshake, but her aunt goes in for a hug instead, so April just awkwardly hugs her back. "It's been so long! You look well."

"Yeah, I guess." April says flatly as she is released from the hug.

"And this must be Derek?" Her aunt shoots Andy a kind of dirty look. April glares at her.

"No, I broke up with Derek. This is Andy. He's my new… Boyfriend."

"Ah. I'm glad. Dating a gay guy… It was weird, sweetie. But Andy is totally straight, yes?"

"Yes, ma'am." Andy interjects. Aunt May smiles at him, outstretching a hand which Andy shakes eagerly.

"He seems nice." Her aunt nods, smiling at April. "Well done."

"Thanks."

Her aunt walks back to her parents, showing them to their table. They're sharing with April's new cousins: a pretty red haired woman of 25, a surly looking boy of 14, and two twin little boys of 5. April tries her hardest to sit as far away from them as possible. She doesn't feel like talking to anyone but Andy at the moment.

She smiles gently at him as they sit down. He is on her right, sandwiched between her and Natalie, whereas she sits between he and her dad.

Not knowing what to say, she simply lifts the menu and scrutinizes it. There's only two options for a starter. Both of them have fancy, trying-too-hard names and she goes for the one that's easiest to pronounce. Andy picks the latter, and the food is ordered and the menus taken away.

"You having fun yet?" He asks, kicking her lightly under the table.

"Noooo…" She replies, but she can feel the smile growing on her face. "And… Thanks for the whole thing with my aunt." She'll deny it if anyone ever asks, but him holding her hand like that kind of made her heart flutter.

"No problem! Any time. I mean it."

She shoots him a half smile, trying to show how grateful she is without using words. Natalie's nearby, and her dad, who'll surely tease her for years if she said anything as sappy as the things she wants to in this moment.

"Are you having fun?" She asks, turning to face him properly.

"Yeah! Loads. Weddings are so much fun."

"Oh my God, no they're not."

"Yes they are! All the family getting together, eating food, listening to cheesy 80s love songs… It's great."

The food is finally brought over, and Andy tucks in straight away. April takes this moment to study him for a minute. (Conclusion: He's cute when he's happy. And he really does look hot in a suit.)

The bride and groom make their dumb speeches – it's the same stuff said in every speech, about how they're so happy they met, how they feel that they truly are soul mates, et cetera et cetera – and then they have their first dance. It's some Whitney Houston song, and Andy whispers "Told you so." as soon as it starts to play.

After what feels like an eternity of awkward silence, the dance floor is officially opened. April's mom and dad go out with all the other older couples, which April is grateful for as it means her parents won't be eavesdropping.

They have been sitting together in blissful silence for only around 5 minutes when Aunt May and Uncle Jonathan approach them. Andy straightens immediately, respectfully nodding to both, but April stays slumped down in her seat. Her aunt regards her distastefully.

"Aren't you two going to dance?" She asks sweetly.

Andy looks at her as though for permission. April shoots back coldly: "No, we're both tired from the car journey." It's a weak excuse, she knows, but she hopes it'll be enough to at least keep her aunt away from them for another hour.

"Nonsense." Her aunt laughs, shaking her head. "Wouldn't you, Andrew-"

"It's Andy." April interrupts, but aunt continues on.

"-like to dance?"

"I, um-"

"Fine." April says haughtily. She grasps Andy's hand, pulling him up from the seat. She drags him to the corner of the dance floor, far away from her annoying aunt and embarrassing parents.

"We only have to dance for one song, then she'll probably leave us alone for the rest of the day."

"It's fine, I don't mind."

April stares at him, one eyebrow raised skeptically.

"Really I don't!"

"Ok, ok. Just… Dance with me." She guides his right hand to just above her waist and roughly places her own below his shoulder. He seems taken aback at the move, but recovers quickly, and begins to move to the music. The song has changed – it's now some dumb Mariah Carey song her aunt definitely picked out. Andy sways to the music – April wasn't counting on him actually _dancing_, so she just tries her best to move with him.

"Are you having fun _now_?" He asks. There's an honesty in his eyes that makes her stomach leap, and vaguely wonders what would happen if she kissed him, right now, right here in this place. No one would even notice; they're all too wrapped up in each other to care.

But Andy would care. And although she's been noticing some definite _signs _recently – prolonged hugging, flirtatious conversations, way more physical contact than normal – she's still not entirely sure of his feelings.

So instead, April just rolls her eyes, making a conscious effort not to outright say _no _or deny it in any way. If she's lucky, he might pick up the hint.

But he doesn't. His eyes cast down to the floor and they dance in silence for the duration of the song and April feels like she could cry.


	6. one of those moms

"Come on, Luke! You can do it this time!"

April looks up from her phone where she's been idly scrolling through Twitter for the past few minutes. Lucas and Andy have been practicing Lucas' batting all day in preparation for his Junior Peewee Baseball try outs tomorrow.

She glances to her son, and smiles encouragingly. She knows he'll do great. His face is screwed up in determination, and it's such an Andy-like look that she can't help but laugh.

Andy throws the ball, trying to make it not too hard or fast, and Lucas swings with a little too much force, so the ball goes flying into their neighbors' lawn.

"Inside!" Andy yells to no one in particular. He runs to Lucas, picking him up and sprinting to the open doors of their house. He jerks his head in the direction of the door to April who quickly goes inside with them, shutting the door just in time before their dumb neighbor starts screaming about "_those Dwyers; raised without a tinge of respect, the lot of them" _again.

"That was _great, _Luke!" Andy cries, ecstatically, spinning him around in the air. April leans against the doorframe, content to just watch them, because she loves this – she loves how good Andy is to their son. He's the perfect dad.

"Yeah, you are gonna _destroy _your try out." April says approvingly, hi-fiving him as she walks to the kitchen.

*_insert line break here mofo__*_

April invites everyone from work along to Luke's first game. Even _Jerry_. (Although he is made to sit at the back.) Leslie brings the triplets, now eight, and grins at April when she greets them by the gates. She whispers to April that she's becoming "_one of _those _moms_" and April rolls her eyes but realises that it doesn't even annoy her all that much.

Luke does great, they all cheer loudly whenever he makes a run. Even Ron makes some sort of celebratory noise, which is saying something due to his usual apathetic attitude towards things. Andy and April stand tall on the bleachers and encourage their son, not even embarrassed despite the fact that all the people behind them are throwing insults to their backs.

Luke's team wins, and April, Andy, and his cousins the Wyatt-Knopes, all congratulate him as soon as the game is over. Andy hauls his son over his shoulders, making sure to hold on tight to his short legs as people shake his hand and pat him on the back.

In the car ride home, April congratulates him once more, and marvels at his athletic talents. ("Where did you even _get _that from, your dad and I haven't played sports in _years._")

They let him stay up extra late that night, rewarding him with hot chocolate and popcorn. They settle on the couch to watch a movie together – Andy sprawled out on one side, April on the left with Luke's head resting in her lap. She grins at her husband – yes, actually _grins_ – and mouths to him, "_we made a kick-ass son_."

*line break againnnnnnnnnnnnn*

By the end of the year, they've played seven proper games, and won all but two. April and Andy are ecstatic, and, after the team winning the last game of the year, June, they take the whole team out for ice cream.

_*oh look what it is haha*_

Ann , Chris, and Oliver stay in Pawnee for at least a week every summer, and on the first night, Leslie and Ben always host their annual Parks-Department-and-Friends-Summer-Funtastic- Barbecue (™ Leslie Knope) for all the parks department/government employees.

Usually April pretends to hate it, but this year she can barely disguise her excitement.

In this year alone, Lucas has won two trophies, four medals, and six games. She can't wait to see Ann again purely so she can brag about her son and his accomplishments.

Before they get in the car to leave, Andy tells her to "be nice to Ann. After all, she hardly ever shows off Oliver's winnings," and then laughs, because he knows it won't make any difference and if he's honest with himself, he wants to brag, too.

_*fuckin line break again wtf*_

When he is seven, Luke graduates to his last year of Junior Peewee Baseball, and he does great. Andy lines up all his trophies on the mantelpiece, and Ron builds him a shield to keep his medals on.

April is totally into the game by this time – she knows all the rules, and has performed as a stand-in coach more than once. She talks endlessly of her son's flare for baseball. She sometimes even gets snacks for the team.

All of this leads her to the realisation that she is a soccer mom.

Well, not _soccer_, but it might as well be. She's a… A sports mom, anyway. One who gets a little too invested in her son's sport-of-choice than she is expected to.

She relays this epiphany to Andy when they are home.

"But, is that such a bad thing?" He asks, confused.

"No, I… I don't know!" It's not that she doesn't like this, this sense of pride for Luke, but she never pictured herself to be "one of _those_ moms," as Leslie put it.

Andy considers it for a moment, then shrugs. "Don't worry about it. It's good that you're proud of Luke. You're a great mom, supporting him like that."

April smiles and leans up to kiss him.

"Gross, mom! Ewww!" Luke yells from behind them.

April rolls her eyes, but turns to peck Andy lightly on the cheek. Then she turns to Luke. "Do _you_ want a kiss, Lucas?" She asks, and he screams and runs down the hall. April tries to chase him, but tires after an embarrassingly short time. Once again, she wonders at her son and his athletic abilities.


	7. sub zero

Leslie mutters something in the background about how "disgustingly awful and sexist" the strip club is, but hardly anyone is paying attention. Tom's complaint has apparently started up a riot, and pretty soon everyone is shouting over each other about nothing in particular (April can hear Donna crying out about her Benz, and somewhere in the midst of all the voices Jerry is trying to calm them all down.)

After less than a minute, April decides she can't stand it anymore (seriously, it's just so loud and annoying, and really, why can't they all just shut up?) and stalks off down the hall to the shoe shine stand.

Andy's there, as he always is. At present, he's hunched over the counter, eyes shut tight and singing some song under his breath.

"Hey," April says a little awkwardly, just to get him to look up.

He does so, immediately. "Oh, hey!"

"Is that a new song?" (She finds it only a little strange that she actually cares about this conversation.)

"Yeah, do you wanna hear it?" He doesn't even wait for her response before he starts singing, loudly. April doesn't really mind however; it's better than the noise coming from the department, where they're all apparently still arguing about the snow.

He only has a few lines so far, and so when he finishes, April nods. "Sounds good."

"Thanks." He goes to hunch over the counter again, and April kind of feels too tall and awkward, so she flops down into the chair beside him.

"Have you heard the news?"

"Huh? What news?"

It feels pretty good to be the one telling him. She's not sure why, but she knows it feels way better than thinking that Ann would tell him, and she figures that must mean something. "We're snowed in."

"Seriously?"

April can't judge whether he's excited or bummed, so she just nods.

"Dude, that's awesome!"

She wrinkles her nose and tries not to laugh at his over-excitedness. "No, it sucks. I don't want to be stuck in here for any longer than I need to be."

"It's great! Plus," he leans over the counter in an attempt to seem sly, "work hours are almost over. After that, they can't control us anymore. We can do whatever we want!"

She knows that's not how it works, but Andy just seems so happy about everything, and so she plays along.

"I guess it could be kind of cool…" Andy just grins even wider.

* * *

And it is kind of fun, at first. She and Andy just run around for about an hour, and throw some baseball around that April stole off of some guys's desk. Leslie tries to stop them at first, but then Andy points out that it's technically past their working hours, and she just drops it and goes get coffee with Ann.

But half an hour after that, some bigshot councillor from down the hall enters the department to inform them all that since it's no longer working hours, the central heating will turn off soon.

"What the hell?" April complains, making a face. She didn't bring a warm coat to work, and she knows it's going to be freezing.

The rest of the Parks Department employees start to complain even more as the realisation hits them. The only one who isn't yelling is Leslie, but even she seems to be on the brink. "How long do you think it'll take for the snow to be removed?" She asks the councillor, giving him a strained smile.

"It's hard to say," the guy wrings his hands, and then rubs his tired-looking eyes. "Upwards of an hour, definitely."

Tom starts whining again. Ron makes a frustrated growl-type noise and locks himself in his office, shutting his blinds.

* * *

True to what the councillor said, the heating shuts off soon after he leaves. For the first half hour or so, April thinks that it's not really that bad, but as half an hour slips into one hour, and the time keeps ticking by, the entire building becomes freezing.

"You're shivering." Andy says out of nowhere. They're sitting by the shoe shine stand, not really talking much and just trying to conserve as much of their body heat as possible.

"N-no shit," April replies, and hates that she stuttered.

Andy says nothing more for a few minutes, and April resumes her staring at the wall. Then, suddenly, she has an idea.

"We should stay together."

"What?" Andy asks, tilting his head in confusion.

"Like, conserve body heat, or whatever." She punctuates this with a roll of her eyes, and hopes she sounds flat enough to appear disinterested.

He still looks confused, but then it dawns on him. "Oh, like the penguins?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure."

"Right on, then." She expected him to be really awkward about it at first, but he doesn't even seem to consider that. He immediately wraps her up in a tight hug, and together they slide down and onto the floor, with their backs against the wall.

"Is this warmer?" He asks, with what seems to be a hint of nervousness in his voice, as if she might reject him.

(Like she ever could.)

"Uh-huh." April can feel a blush creeping onto her cheeks and she's so glad that her face is hidden from him. He really is warm, and the fact that the heating has turned off and she's stuck at work after hours is beginning to look a lot better.

"Cool."

Neither of them say anything after that, but his hand finds hers and he rests his chin on her head and she's pretty sure that to a passerby, they would look an awful lot like a couple. She can't really say that she minds.

* * *

"Oh, hey, look at that." Tom's voice wakes April up. She blinks fast, trying to focus on her surroundings. Andy's arm is wrapped around her waist, and she's so close to him that she's practically sitting in his lap.

"Leslie told me to find you guys. The snow's been moved from the door. We're all getting out of here."

Andy stirs and wakes up. "What's happening?" He asks groggily, staring up at Tom. "Did I fall asleep?"

"Yes. Now hurry up losers, we need to get outta here."

April rolls her eyes at Tom but stands, steadying herself against the wall. The hand that was clasped in Andy's is sweaty.

Andy struggles to get up, complaining that his foot's fallen asleep. April gives him a hand, and he manages to get to his feet.

Tom takes off down the hall, trying to leave as quickly as possible. April makes to leave herself, but Andy opens his mouth to speak, although he apparently can't find the words.

"I'm sorry for - uh - falling asleep." He finally manages to get out. He scratches the back of his neck, a sheepish look on his face.

"No, it's cool." April replies. "I was tired, anyway."

"See you tomorrow, then?" He has that nervous edge to his voice again, the same way as before.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." She leaves him there at the shoe shine stand, but she can feel his watching her as she goes.


	8. 20 questions

"April," Leslie begins awkwardly, rudely interrupting April's 3-hour streak of doing absolutely nothing.

"What?" April asks, pushing her magazine to the side and fixing Leslie with one of the stares she uses to make people uncomfortable. It usually works, but apparently nothing can sway Leslie today.

"Can you deliver these papers to the fourth floor, please? They're for Room 12."

This is one of the few tasks that April actually doesn't mind doing all that much. The fourth floor is one of the only good places in City Hall; the place reeks of death and junkies, such a contrast to the usual sunshine and happiness Leslie Knope inflicts upon Parks Department. The last time she was up there, April witnessed a fist fight between an old widow and and balding 40-year old recent divorcee, so she's pretty psyched to see what else can happen up there.

"Sure." She replies, taking the small stack of papers from Leslie's hand. The older woman smiles at her gratefully, but April only rolls her eyes in response.

* * *

Andy catches her as she walks past the shoe-shine stand, making her way to the only working elevator in the building (seriously, the place is a total shithole). He waves to her enthusiastically, and so she shoots him a small smile back.

"What's up?"

"Nothing," April replies disinterestedly. She waves the papers in her hands and tries not to look him for too long. "Leslie asked me to deliver these to the fourth floor."

His eyes light up. "Can I come?"

"I guess," April makes a face. "I don't get why you would want to, though. The fourth floor is worse than down here."

"Yeah, but I've never been up there before, and last time Tom went up there he told me he saw some guy trying to deal used condoms," he shakes his head, a disgusted look on his face. "It just sounds really cool."

If she's honest, April finds it awesome that he wants to come, that he's apparently just as interested in gross, weird stuff like the fourth floor people as she is. The only other person she knows who, if asked, would even consider going to such a disturbing place with her is Orin, so it's pretty amazing to think she's found someone else who understands her passion for gross stuff like this.

"Fine." She tries to repress the smile that tries to form on her face, and instead starts walking up to the elevator, not even looking behind to check if Andy's following her or not, because she knows he is.

The elevator opens with an old-fashioned ding and she steps in. Sure enough, Andy's right at her back. As the doors shudder to a close, he still has the same perpetual grin on his face, but he somehow seems a little less, well, overjoyed to be there. There's a hint of something in his eyes, some negative emotion that April can't quite place. She's never seen him like this, actually looking unhappy to be somewhere, before.

Then it hits her.

She opens her mouth to ask, and is just able to get the first half of the question out - "Andy, are you clau-"

CRASH.

The elevator stops suddenly. One of the lights at the top flickers and then cuts out completely.

For a moment, neither of them react. Then the understanding of what just happened slowly starts to seep in.

"Fucking great." April complains, dropping the papers Leslie wanted her to deliver onto the floor. Thankfully there's a "call for security" button on the floor selection panel. She presses it forcefully, twice for good measure. It lights up and, satisfied, (or as satisfied as she can be in this shitty situation), she turns to lean her back against the cool metal wall.

It's then that she realises Andy hasn't said anything yet. In fact, he hasn't even opened his mouth since they got into the elevator, which is strange for him.

His face is ghost white, and his jaw is locked. He stares straight ahead at the doors, with a gaze that seems like he's trying to open them with the force of his glare. Aside from the rapid movement from his chest, he's as still as she's ever seen him.

It's worrying.

"Are you okay?" April doesn't sound herself at all; she sounds like she actually cares a whole lot about his answer, but in that moment it doesn't matter.

He says nothing for a long while and she can see that he's trying to control his breathing enough to reply. Finally, he croaks out an unconvincing "Sure."

"You're claustrophobic?" She wishes that she'd realised this sooner.

He scratches the back of his neck nervously, his shirt lifting up slightly. April definitely does not stare. At all. Nope.

"I'm pretty sure I know what that words means. But just to be sure, could you…?"

"You don't like being in small spaces. It freaks you out, right?"

Andy looks to the floor, embarrassed. "I guess. But elevators are the worst."

April doesn't know what to say. She's never been in a situation like this before. For some weird reason, she's never really thought about Andy being afraid of anything.

What would Ann do?

That train of thought is abandoned soon after it appears. Ann isn't even with Andy anymore, and she sucks, anyway.

"I'm sorry." She tells him, mostly because she hasn't said anything for a while and doesn't want him to think she's ignoring him.

"For what?"

"Like, it's my fault you're stuck in this shitty situation. Sorry about that."

"It's not your fault."

Why the fuck is he trying to make her feel better about this? It's him who's trapped in what must be one of their worst nightmares.

He's doing that breathing exercise thing again, clearly trying to take his mind off it.

Well, she can help him with that, at least.

"I'm afraid of spiders." She offers, probably unhelpfully.

Andy looks up again. A grin starts to form on his face. "No way."

"Yeah. They terrify me."

"Dude," he manages to get out before he bursts out into laughter.

"Seriously!" She tries to sound defensive despite the smile creeping its way onto her face.

"But spiders are creepy."

"And?"

"And you love creepy stuff. You're not scared of anything." He waves his hands around for emphasis. "Like, this, being stuck in some old creaky elevator doesn't even scare you."

She shrugs, suppressing her smile. He actually looks kind of like his normal, happy self now, and knowing that she's the cause of it is making her feel… Weird. It's, like, the same dumb crush she's had for a while, but stronger, somehow. Seeing him this happy, and knowing that it's because of her… It's nice.

And then she has another idea. The same stupid tactic she's been using since middle school, but with Andy, she knows it'll be different.

"20 Questions."

"Huh?"

April rolls her eyes at him. "20 Questions. We ask each other 10 questions each. We have to answer them honestly, though."

He nods slowly as if processing her words. "Okay. Right on."

"Okay. So, um," hurriedly, she tries to think of a suitable question to ask. Andy's pretty much an open book as it is, so at this point there's not much she doesn't know about him. "How did you get into music?"

His eyes light up, and April knew that asking him about music would be a good idea.

"My uncle always used to take me and my brothers on these really long car rides to parades and stuff. He used to play all his old cassettes. He was into, like, old British rock bands, I think. My favourite was The Kinks. He'd let me listen to it over and over." He laughs and shakes his head, caught up in the nostalgia.

His answer is actually a lot deeper than April expected. She's left pondering what he said for so long that she doesn't even register when he asks her a question back. "Sorry, what?"

"I said; how did you and Natalie become so… Creepy? Like, I've met your parents. They're just so happy all the time."

She's had this question all her life. Usually it annoys her, and she just gives whoever's asking it some flippant or rude answer. Andy's just so sincere, though. He actually cares about what she has to say.

"I guess…" She sighs, knowing how difficult explaining this is going to be. "They've always been so nice, and, like, everyone kind of just expects you to be like that. Like it's a requirement, or something. So when I realised I wasn't totally like that, so… Perfect, I guess? I just kind of embraced it. It's… It's just who I am."

April expects him to misunderstand, to laugh, even to argue with her, but he doesn't. Instead, when she finally looks up at him again, he's nodding his head. "I get you."

"Seriously?" She has to repress a smile again, because of course Andy would get it. He actually listens. "Okay, then. My turn. When was your first kiss?" It's a little sudden to be delving into all the emotional stuff, but it is 20 Questions. She just figures that Andy should have been expecting it to morph into actual deep questions sooner or later.

"I was, like, 13 I think. Some girl kissed me as a dare from our friends." He shrugs. "It wasn't anything special, really." His next question is immediate: "When was your first kiss?"

She wants to deflect it somehow, to tell him he can't repeat her question back, or something, but then deicdes that that would be pointless. The whole point of the stupid game was to get Andy to focus on something other than the elevator, and it actually seems to be working so far.

"Ugh, I was 8. It was with some boy back in Puerto Rico. He kissed me then all the adults started gushing over us and stuff so the next day I threatened to cut his fingers off if he ever spoke to me again."

"You're so weird."

"Yeah. Anyway. Um, how did you become claustrophobic?" Another dumb question, seriously, but she doubts he'll take offence.

"I dunno. I guess I've always been pretty big." He chuckles, shaking his head at himself. "Being in small spaces… It just freaks me out. Makes me feel like the walls are closing in, y'know?"

And, yeah, April can totally get it. Andy's put it into the perfect words. When she tells him so, he just shakes his head again.

"My turn."

The glint in his eye lets April know that this next question is probably going to be something more serious, probably that she would never answer under any other circumstances.

"Who do you like?"

Shit shit shit shit shit.

She stares at anything but him for what feels like forever, trying to hide her flaming cheeks. Shit. This was all her dumb idea, anyway, and she was the one who insisted on answering honestly. Lying wasn't an option now, and anyway, lying to Andy always made her feel terrible.

"Um, Earth to April?" Andy laughed again. "I asked you, who do you like? Because I heard Tom making some kind of bet about whether or not anything would happen between you and some guy you like, and, I don't know, you're pretty awesome. So I wanna know, 'cause, like, we're friends. I hope he's not an asshole. He's not, right?"

"No." She replies a little too quickly. "He's, um… He works at City Hall."

"Yeah, but what's his name?" Andy presses, and he's still grinning, the oblivious idiot.

"It's, uh-"

And the elevator shudders to life. The lights flicker back on, and they are slowly moving upwards again. Too soon (or maybe not soon enough, April isn't really sure) the doors open up and the fourth floor spreads out in front of them.

As soon as Andy catches sight of the fourth floor, all thoughts of the game seem to disappear from his head. He scrambles out through the doors, looking around, and then beckons for April to follow him.

Her heart is still racing from what almost happened, but she smiles back at him, picks up the folders, and follows him out.


	9. 5 times, V-day edition

**1.**

"But why do I have to write cards for everyone in my class?"

It is 1996, and April Ludgate is 6 years old. Her living room is covered in huge red hearts, (and not even the cool, gross kind,) and theres an obnoxiously large bouquet of flowers on the kitchen table. She and her mother have been sitting here for what feels like hours, and so far have completed 7 cards out of the 25 required. Only one out of the 7 has a "creepy" insult in it, which April considers an achievement but apparently her mother does not.

"Because it's nice." Her mother replies to her question, absentmindedly cutting another heart shape out of the red felt spread across the table. "You don't want people to think you're not nice, do you?"

She considers that for a moment. After a beat, she deadpans. "Yes."

"Valentine's Day is important, Zuzu. It's a holiday, to celebrate love and affection." She ignores her daughter's pained groans as she continues: "You'll understand someday. But until then, you have to finish these cards off for your classmates."

"Valentine's Day is just dumb." April mutters, but she obligingly writes out the cards. At the bottom, she signs her name with a skull and crossbones.

**2.**

She gets her first Valentine's Day card ("anonymous" ones from her father not included) when she is 8.

He pulls her hair, hard, from where he sits behind her in class.

When she turns round to stare him down, scare him off, he shoves a card in her face. It's a generic Wal-Mart heart-covered monstrosity, with pink lettering emblazoned across the front: "LOVE is BEAUTIFUL!" On the inside, it reads "TO: April FROM: Dean" and its pretty obvious that he didn't try at all. She can usually respect this, not caring, but it's Valentine's Day and something about it all feels wrong, and besides, she's still mad at him for pulling her hair like that.

So she turns around in her seat, stares him right in the eye, and tells him matter-of-factly, "I am going to fight you after school."

**3\. **

Her dumb middle school apparently has a tradition where roses can be purchased and given out to the "object of one's desire" during class time. It's her first year there, and she only wished that someone had warned her about this sooner so that she'd have time to fake a bout of measles so she wouldn't have to attend school during this time.

In fourth period History the girl sitting next to her leans over and whispers conspiratorially. "Haven't you got a rose yet?"

"No." She doesn't even look round to her, instead focuses on the tiny swords she's been doodling all over her notebook throughout the lesson.

"Aw, April." Her tone holds a slight hint of sarcasm. "I'm sure you'll get one by the end of the day." She, herself, proudly has a bouquet of 3 so far, laying on her desk, obnoxiously in full sight.

"I hope not. Valentine's Day is so dumb. Roses always die, anyway. They're useless."

Her classmate apparently can't think of a reply to that, so instead she sighs and returns to her work.

At the end of the day when April is finally set to go home, the same girl from History class before approaches her in the hallway. 2 more red roses have been added to her collection, and she tosses her blonde hair over her shoulder before asking April: "Didn't you get any roses, after all?"

"I did, but I burnt them as a sacrifice to Satan."

**4\. **

In 2006 April and her new friend she met in school detention, Orin, agree to spend Valentine's Day together. It's pretty cool, she thinks, to have someone who truly understands the commercialised waste of time February 14th actually is.

They go to some generic cheesy rom-com movie together, and laugh so hard at the terrible-ness of it all that an annoyed couple trying to make out in the back row get an employee to kick them out.

After that, they feast on discounted Valentine's Day-themed food, and light the fake-pity card Stacy Knoblock sent Orin on fire in the shelter of the woods.

It's not the worst V-Day she's ever had, but she still considers it a stupid holiday, and rolls her eyes at all the couple holding hands she sees on her walk home.

**5.**

"Don't you just think that, like, Valentine's Day is super dumb?" April asks lazily. She's sat in the seat at the shoe shine stand, having stopped by there as soon as Andy had finished practicing for the Seniors Centre Dance.

"What? No." He scoffs, shaking his head. "I _love _Valentine's Day."

"Ew, seriously?" It's _almost _enough to make her change her opinion about him. (Not quite. At the moment, she's not sure anything could ever change how she feels about him, but whatever.)

"Yeah! I used to celebrate it with Ann all the time." He gets that half-wistful look in his eyes again, the way he always looks when he talks about Ann. April decides to bring him back to topic.

"Gross. Valentine's Day is so stupid. It's just some... Some commercialised Hallmark holiday where cheating husbands buy their dumb housewives cards they got for, like, 99 cent at Target to make up for all the affairs they've had. Like, you shouldn't need a day dedicated to showing the people you like that you like them. Y'know?"

"I guess, but dude. _Cheap candy." _

Of course Andy wold like a holiday as annoying as this because of the cheap candy. It's grossly adorable, and she hates it.

3

**1\. **

_"This one goes out to a special little lady named April Ludgate." _

When he starts to play, keeping his eyes locked on her, she kind of gets why those many annoying songs always go on about the feeling of "being the only girl in the world" because that's pretty much how she feels right now.

She loves that stupid song he's playing. Usually the music Mouserat makes isn't exactly her type, but maybe it's the lyrics or maybe it's their rendition of it, but she wants to hear this song over and over again.

It makes her feel... Special. In some dumb, gross way. If she had it bad for him before, then she's definitely swimming in the deep end now.

Maybe Valentine's Day wouldn't be so bad if she had someone to share it with.


	10. from the Ludgate-Dwyer household

April finds herself actually smiling as she and her new husband wave goodbye to the last straggling guests. It's strange; Leslie pulls her into a fierce hug before she walks out, and April feels like she could just cry on the spot. Instead she mumbles a "thank you" just loud enough for her friend to hear it, and watches as she gets into her car and drives away.

And she doesn't even care, not really, when her mother slips her a foil packet on her way out, winking and advising her to "be safe" unless she wants to give her grandkids straight away (which she would be "totally fine with, honey, it's really your choice.") Andy, of course, thanks Mrs. Ludgate supremely, but April throws the still-wrapped condom away as soon as she's left because she's pretty sure her mom's stabbed holes in it anyway.

"You okay?" Andy asks. April has her back to him, but she can tell that he's grinning. It's weird, like some marital sixth sense, and although it sounds like it's come out of a shitty rom-com movie April still thinks it's kind of cool.

"Yeah." She calls over from the couch. There's a stain of beer on one side of it from when Tom spilled his drink, but Burly did his best to mop it up so now it's just discoloured and sticky. "Why?"

"You won't stop smiling." He chuckles, and she hears him tap something into the search bar on his iPod at the stereo. "Seriously, it's weird. I've never seen you smile continuously for so long."

"Shut up." It's true. She tries, there, to force the corners of her mouth down, but it probably looks stupid and she can't hold it for long, anyway.

"Mm-hm." He makes a soft noise. April isn't sure if he's talking to her or making some remark about the stereo, so she keeps quiet.

He leans his arms over the back of the couch, and sure enough, he's grinning as bad as she is. "Care for a dance, Mrs. Ludgate-Dwyer?"

She's about to roll her eyes (it's pretty much an instinctive reaction nowadays) but then she hears the music. And it's the exact same song - the familiar twanging of guitar and ametuerly-placed swell of violin which she had pretended to forget.

"How did you find that song?" April asks, bewildered. A half-laugh escapes her and she tries to ignore the hot prickling behind her eyes, fighting not to cry (she promised she'd never cry at her _own wedding._)

"A butt-ton of searching." Andy nods, still smiling that wide, oddly contagious smile of his. "I had to get Leslie to call in to the state Parks Department to ask them about it, and then I had to find a recording of it that wasn't shitty, but I found it." He extends his hand to her. "So, would you care to dance?"

"Fine." It's reminiscent of yesterday, when he basically proposed to her. He understands the small reference, and grins as she accepts his hand and allows him to heave her up from the couch.

There's hardly any room; they haven't bothered to clean up anything yet, and Burly's staying at his parents' house so it probably won't get cleaned up for quite a while. The table, still holding Chris's "vegetable loaf" (untouched except for the pieces he ate himself, and the one that Andy ate and later threw up) is taking up most of the space between the couch and the wall, so they're forced to stand pressed up against each other, not that April really minds.

So they sway, somewhat awkwardly, to the beat. The dance in silence for a minute, and honestly April's just enjoying the company. Andy is warm, and when she lays her head against his chest she can hear his heartbeat. It's probably the most intimate moment of her life so far, which usually would be terrifying, but with Andy she feels at peace.

She can feel the vibrations on his chest when he hums. When she looks up, she expects to see him staring back down at her, but instead his eyes are boring into a spot by the window. She's just about to ask him if something's wrong when he pipes up.

"Do you think this was a mistake?"

Her heart jumps. It's just too scary to hear him say that. Unwillingly, she starts picturing in her head visions of him backing out, revealing that this was all some... Some drunken fluke. An accident.

But she tries her best to keep her cool. "What do you mean?" It's a wonder she didn't stutter the words.

"Leslie seemed to think we were making a mistake." He says, slowly. "I didn't really think much of it, but..."

"But what?" They're still swaying to the song, but the distance between them has increased by the slightest amount and April knows she shouldn't complain about that but she feels as though she might start hyperventilating soon and she really just wants to smash herself up against him again.

"Honey, what if she's right?" He finally looks down at her then, but she can't make herself look him in the eye right now. If she sees what she's imagining she might see - that half sad, half regretful look of someone who knows they've made a pivotal mistake - she doesn't know if she'll be able to hold it together much longer.

"Do... Do you think that she's right?" It's a question she has to ask, even though she dreads hearing his answer. But his arms tighten around her the smallest amount, and when she finally forces herself to look up, catch his eye... He's not the type of person to back out of a marriage. He's Andy Dwyer, and it was his idea to have this party in the first place. He's not always good at expressing himself in words, but she knows that he won't want to hurt her like this.

"No." He scoffs. "Marrying you is probably one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life. You - I mean - You're the best, you know?" He shakes his head, and takes a deep breath before continuing. "Do you think we've made a mistake?"

_That's what he was confused about? _April can't help but think. How on Earth could he, after all this time, still doubt how much she loves him?

He waits patiently for her answer, as a thousand thoughts go through her head at once. Countless words, countless ways of saying it, countless song lyrics se could quote. She would give anything to make him understand, because the love she has for him right now is huge. It's overwhelming, and she can't even begin to comprehend the enormity of it all. It's impossible to put into words, hopeless to even try to speak coherently about it. She can physically feel the love she has for him inside her - can feel it swell in her chest, bubble up as if she wants to say something, but she's pretty sure that even if she tried to tall him the truth about it, all that would come out would be "iloveyouiloveyouiloveyouiloveyouiloveyouiloveyou" until she couldn't speak any longer.

So instead she just laughs. A small, sort snort of pure joy. "_Dude, no. _Of course not."

His grin is back and she finds herself copying him, and the look that he gives her before pulling her back in, snug, lets her know that he really does understand.

She's not in this alone anymore.


End file.
